3 questions today: '89 765Ti

Hi guys,

I have three questions for you learned bricksters today, re: my '89 760 Turbo wagon.

First, the headlights and grille-side fogs on this recently-acquired awesome wagon look grimy on the inside (I will highly polish the outside of the plastic lenses later). I would like to take them off and toss them in the dishwasher. In a preliminary looksee in the driveway last night, I could not easily see how the headlight/foglight assemblies are removed. I considered the Really Big Screwdriver, but came to think that that would have been short-sighted ; ). Anybody know how??

Second, I have a problem with the tailgate electrics. It started as an intermittent problem with the third brake light. The dashboard warning light would come on, once again intermittently, telling me that the thrid brake light was misfunctioning. Yesterday, on a wet and drizzly day here in Toronto, the electrics went Wacko. The rear defog switch would light up the third brakelight, the brakes would not light the third brake light, the wiper stopped working altogether. This morning in the dry it is all back to normal. It sounds like a ground problem, maybe, but where? I removed the panel above and inside the back door, and the wiring there, and all around the hinge all looks good. Is there a central ground or something within the door itself?

Finally, and less pressing: anybody know where to find a really nice, good quality, decent-fitting set of seat covers for the front seats of this car? The leathers are tan coloured, and looking pretty tired. I may try to thoroughly clean the seats, including the blackened wrinkles and creases, but am also considering some nicer seatcovers.

Thanks in advance,

RF

Reply to
Ritchard Findlay
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The lights are held onto the backing plate with 4 sided clips that are almost impossible to remove without breaking something. Putting the lenses in the dishwasher would ruin the reflector's reflective coating, so this is a bad idea.

The ground comes out that harness and is connected near the left taillight. Also, just because the outside of the harness looks ok, doesn't mean that the wires inside it are all good.

Reply to
Mike F

Presuming I could get the four-sided clips off, can you not separate the lenses from the reflectors? I just want to give the lenses a bath, and I would clean the reflectors separately with some nice cottom rags. Proper forward lighting is a pet peeve of mine, I want this car to be as good as it can be. My other '89, the 740 GLE has the Silverstars installed. They look great for a sealed beam system.

So you figure I should just get in there with the soldering iron and go ahead and make new runs from the top inside of the door into the door cavity itself? That is of course, after checking that the main ground is clean and secure. I suppose the repair would only take an hour or so. Would I want to find some new rubber tubing, or would a good careful wrap up with good quality electrical tape suffice?

Reply to
Ritchard Findlay

Get a set of real glass lights from Europe and throw the plastic junk in the trash where it belongs, you'll be amazed at the difference.

Reply to
James Sweet

That's the long-term plan. However, for the short term, I would like to clean these ones up.

Where do I find a glass set anyhow?

RF

Reply to
Ritchard Findlay

There's a company in Germany that sells them, I forget the name, you could also just post on here and see if anyone can help you out.

Reply to
James Sweet

Oh yeah, just make sure you get lights from somewhere where they drive on the right side of the road.

Reply to
James Sweet

The lens and reflector are bonded together. Sometimes they separate on their own, but I wouldn't want to try it if they were still bonded.

Keep in mind when fixing any harness that has to flex that your repair will be much stiffer than the unrepaired part so flex will be more concentrated in the area right beside the repair. Wrapping with good electrical tape will suffice if you're neat, especially if you can tuck the exposed end of the tape under one of the grommets.

Reply to
Mike F

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